Share this:

Description

BepiColombo – ESA’s first mission to Mercury – is based on two spacecraft: the ESA-led Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), a three-axis stabilised and nadir-pointing spacecraft with 11 experiments and instruments, and the JAXA-led Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), a spinning spacecraft carrying a payload of five experiments and instruments.

The composite spacecraft will reach Mercury using a highly efficient, low thrust, electric propulsion system that will steadily propel it along a series of arcs around the Sun. With a launch in October 2018, the trajectory will also be modified by eight planetary flybys: of Earth in April 2020, Venus in 2020 and 2021, and then six times of Mercury itself between 2021 and 2025. BepiColombo will enter Mercury orbit in December 2025.

This poster has a partly glossy, partly matte finish and it’ll add a touch of sophistication to any room.